Author Archives: jason
Incivility project post #2: retail political communication and email traffic
Just a quick, intermediate post on a very small part of the research going into my book on the Internet, political communication and incivility. One of the things that some interviewees told me about their work in moderating websites and … Continue reading
Research without grants
I have just come to the end of my field work for the incivility project I mentioned in the last post. This research has been self-funded – that is, I received no money from outside sources, and I paid all … Continue reading
The Incivility Project – First Thoughts – Agonism and Affect Sinks
For at least the past year and a half, I’ve been thinking hard about the relationship between political incivility and digital communication networks. (That’s partly what led me into the collaborative journal special issue on trolling). It’s hard to wade … Continue reading
Leading indicators
The central problem taken up by the body of scholarship reviewed in this Kevin Drum post is not lead poisoning. It is order. Nevin’s 2000 paper defines a preoccupation with public order (whose absence is registered as violent crime) and … Continue reading
The Facebook copyright meme and the “omnicompetent user”.
People were extensively mocked in the last fortnight for copying and pasting this text to their Facebook walls: In response to the new Facebook guidelines, I hereby declare that my copyright is attached to all of my personal details, illustrations, … Continue reading
Twitter and academic professionalism – for Pre-Fix at #CSAA2012
(I’ve been asked to speak about social media and academic careers to the Pre-Fix event at the CSAA conference. In the post that follows I’ve chosen to speak almost exclusively about Twitter, for various reasons, not least I think because … Continue reading
Walking and chewing gum
I’m choosing shut up and listen when it comes to the debate as to what qualifies as misogyny or sexism in our public speech and behaviour in Australia. I assume that my women friends, colleagues and comrades will have far … Continue reading
Fairfax and Finkelstein
The Finkelstein Report earlier this year: In considering the current state of the press in Australia, the Inquiry has given considerations to not only the submissions received but also to an extensive range of other local and international evidence. From … Continue reading
The Global Mail: an inside job.
This might seem like wisdom after the event. But I’ve actually been mulling over these thoughts on The Global Mail for a while. My reluctance to criticise the site until now, after it has lost its inaugural editor, might have … Continue reading
Menzies House’s campaigns against Aboriginal Australians.
What do these two Menzies House campaigns have in common? It’s not support for the principles around freedom of political expression. Menzies House only extends that support to Bolt. It’s not about demanding that limits be placed on political action … Continue reading